Sacramento was HOT... I mean it was smokin'!
It was so hot, I saw Satan hisself in Lowes trying to buy an oscillating fan...
Seriously, When I got to the tennis site at 11:30 it was 104 degrees.
Hot-hot-hot...
I did some prework, took a good look around the site then got the hell out.
I quickly found a bar and immersed myself in a huge rum drink and watched the World Cup Finals match... Hunter and I traded SMS messages all afternoon during the game...
(There is a nice Caribbean-themed bar/restaurant on Sunrise in Citrus Heights called Barbacoa Breeze. Good music, tasty food... Definitely worth a stop.)
When the game was over I headed to the hotel- Much better than the Motel 6- it was a Marriott- (Ranch Cordova, for those keeping score.)
My equipment arrived the next morning and I spent the rest of the day putting the scoreboards in place and running my cables...
I arranged to have scoreboards placed with adequate clearspace for crowd entry/egress. I also discussed possibility for installing castor wheels on scoreboards as the Fire Marshall had already made a visit to the site and warned them about the need for emergency exits from the court.
I installed the ad panels and did the scoring position setup and testing.
I headed over to Fry's Electronics to pick up some pieces and parts...
(If you don't know Fry's, man, you need to get out to California and visit one... What a cool place. Imagine Best Buy on Nerd Steroids... All the cool parts, pieces, tools, gewgaws, knicknacks, and doodads... It is truly Nerd-vana...)
When I came out of the store I noticed I had a flat tire...
(&*%$@#*&#$@%$@*&%%$#@#$#*&^%#!#@$%&&%$#*&+@#!$%$@&!!!!!)
Did I mention it's &^%$ng hot here? Like 100 degrees?
I called Avis roadside assistance...just to explore the possibilities...
(Note to frequent renters- call from a local phone. Save yourself 20 minutes of bull$#|+... the Roadside Assistance system had number recognition and will route you to the facility for your area code/exchange...Forget that when you give them your Rental Agreement Number they know you rented the car at the airport in Sacramento...
Hence this conversation:
Roadside Assistance: "So, you have a flat tire. Where exactly are you?"
Yours Truly: "I'm on Northgate Ave near I-80."
RA: "Hmmm. Northgate? Don't you mean Gateway on I-95?"
YT: "No.. I'm in Sacramento, just off I-80."
RA: "Are you sure? You're calling from a Jacksonville exchange."
YT: "Uh, yeah. I'm calling from my cell phone."
RA: Long pause as the concept took hold.
RA: "Okay... So... can you call back from a payphone? That way the call will be routed to the correct office."
YT: "You must be kidding.")
I changed the tire myself and took the car back to the Airport and got a new car.
Dinner? Glad you asked. I went to Hooters on Truxel...
(Alas, it was a franchisee, so I didn't get to have Cajun wings. Almost ruined my night.)
The next morning I went back to the site and the scoreboards had been put on wheels.
Hmmm...
Large scratches on the court surface in front of one of my scoreboards.
Hmmm...
Green court surface residue on the top of my ad panel...
Double Hmmm.
A closer inspection shows that north end scoreboard had been dropped.
(No one volunteered any info, and short of accusing malfeasance, I let the matter lie since testing showed no permanent damage. Re-seated digit displays and tested the hardware... It all seemed OK.
I believe the Ops guys lifted the scoreboard with forklift in order to install the wheels, and accidently dropped it.
I had good rapport with these guys and didn't want to endanger it by accusations and recriminations, so I just filed the pictures in my Pearl Harbor folder and went about the business of Tennis Scoring.
The girl that had been tasked with scoring operations showed up at 12:00 and I gave her some Special High Intensity Training...
She's pretty sharp- looks like she won't have any problem handling the system.
By the way, I need to mention the SHE'S ONLY 17. Get your collective minds out of the gutter.
I was running my webcam during the day, for the benefit of the guys beck in the Help Desk...
Kaitlin- Scoring Volunteer Extraordinaire.
Kaitlin and one of her partners in crime, little sister...
A message for Chris Crews of the Help Desk.
The obligatory girls-in-the-crowd shot.
The event was a breeze- no problems, no real issues.
I was out by 11:00-
I grabbed a burger at the In-N-Out Burger on Sunrise and was blissfully asleep by 1:00.
I slept like a baby.
I even wet the bed.
Noon flight the next day...
Back on Continental, I tried for a bulkhead seat- No joy.
But, the Patron Saint of Frequent Flyers, Saint Shaniqua, smiled upon me and the gate agent brought me an upgrade just before they closed the door...
Bulkhead row in business class. I must be living right.
The movie was the Pink Panther...
Not too shabby. Steve Martin did a reasonable job with the character...
I probably like the original better- Sellers (rest his poor demented soul) did a much better Clouseau- not quite so over-the-top.
Still, the movie was enjoyable, though.
And it killed the 3 hours to Houston admirably.
IAH to Jax- Another upgrade and a walk in the park...
(Hey- Continental is serving soup in Biz Class for Lunch and Dinner these days.
Corn chowder on the first flight and a really good cream of mushroom on the second.)
I was back in the humidity-laden air of North Florida by 10:30p...
An hour later, a large spotted dog was digging her tonenails into my chest and clearing the end tables with her wagging tail.
A fine welcome home.
Famous, out.
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